The popularity of bitcoin is continuously growing, attracting more and more investors. Read on to discover a list of top bitcoin exchanges in the UK that allow you to buy and sell BTC against GBP.
Best Bitcoin Exchanges in the UK
Reputations, the speed of making payments, and the convenience of buying crypto are some of the characteristics that make a good bitcoin exchange. Below are five of the best bitcoin exchanges in the UK that you can use to trade bitcoin.
Binance
Binance is a Malta-based cryptocurrency exchange that has been active since July 2017. Previously, the headquarters of Binance was China. However, the exchange moved to Malta due to China’s harsh regulatory crypto environment.
Besides buying and selling bitcoin among other cryptocurrencies like bitcoin cash and litecoin, you can do the following:
- Perform margin trading
- Access peer-to-peer trading
- Participate in yield farming by becoming a liquidity provider
- Trading in crypto derivatives
- Access to over the counter (OTC) trading
- Get crypto loans
Binance also offers its own wallet, called Trust Wallet, and a decentralised digital asset exchange, Binance DEX. On the other hand, you can buy crypto on Binance via a credit or debit card, bank transfer (SEPA and Faster Payments), and through third-party payment channels if you are in supported countries.
Depositing fiat or crypto in the exchange is free. However, withdrawal fees will vary from currency to currency.
Pros
- Binance offers a mobile app.
- User-friendly interface.
- Trading fees are low, and Binance reduces them further when you use Binance coin (BNB).
- Binance supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies.
Cons
- Beginners could find the exchange intimidating due to the advanced trading features.
- It doesn’t offer live customer care support.
CEX.io
CEX.io is a London-based bitcoin exchange. It has been around since 2013 and supports cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, dash, bitcoin cash, ripple, tether, and link.
Moreover, you can buy crypto with payment methods like credit or debit cards, bank transfers (SEPA, SWIFT, ACH, and Faster Payments), and cryptocurrency.
High trade volumes attract lower fees. For instance, 30-day BTC trade volumes of more than 6000 attract zero maker fees and 0.1 percent taker fees.
The available products on CEX.io are:
- Instant buy
- Crypto loans
- Spot, margin, and CFD trading
- Staking
- An aggregator executes orders for clients
- A payment gateway solution for businesses
Pros
- It gives users the option to trade through a mobile app and API.
- The instant buy option makes it beginner-friendly.
- You can buy crypto directly with Pounds.
Cons
- It could take a day to get a reply from customer service personnel.
- The supported cryptocurrencies are not that many.
- Trading fees are relatively high.
Luno
Luno is another bitcoin exchange where you can buy, sell, trade, and store crypto. Additionally, the exchange enables users to grow their bitcoin holdings through the BTC savings wallet. The feature offers an interest rate of four percent.
Luno is a London-based crypto exchange that started operations in 2013. Furthermore, the payment method available to UK users is bank transfer.
The exchange does not charge any fees to withdraw and deposit the Pound. Additionally, there are no trading limits if you reach the third level of verification. There are also no maker fees for all trade volumes with regard to UK customers.
Bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, ripple, and ether are the available cryptocurrencies for UK users.
Other Luno features include:
- Mobile phone price alerts.
- Website visitors can access cryptocurrency learning resources.
- Luno stores 95 percent of the crypto in “deep freeze” multi-signature wallets.
- Instant buy and sell.
Pros
- Luno provides its customers with a mobile app that they can use to trade.
- Traders in the UK can access crypto/fiat and crypto/crypto trading pairs.
- Trading fees are low.
- Customers can purchase or sell crypto instantly.
- It is easy to find information in the FAQ section.
Cons
- The supported cryptocurrencies are few.
- Luno doesn’t offer live support.
Coinjar
Coinjar is a Melbourne-based crypto exchange that has been running since 2013. It is one of the UK’s most popular exchanges.
Coinjar makes it convenient for UK users to buy and sell crypto. Moreover, the exchange supports various cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, chainlink, stellar, compound, and Uniswap.
The exchange provides the following products:
- OTC trading.
- A crypto debit card.
- You can purchase a collection of digital currencies thanks to the Coinjar bundle feature.
- Traders can utilize crypto/crypto and crypto/GBP trading pairs.
UK customers can use the Faster Payments Service to make deposits into Coinjar. Additionally, the exchange does not charge users any fees for withdrawing Pounds to their bank accounts. Note that Coinjar accepts bank transfers from most banks in the UK.
Pros
- User-friendly interface that makes it easy to find information.
- You can access the Coinjar products through the mobile app.
- Traders can view the performance of their portfolios via the mobile app.
Cons
- The trading fees are higher compared to Luno.
- You have to complete ID verification to access higher bank transfer daily limits and to convert crypto.
Localbitcoins
Localbitcoins is a Helsinki-based peer-to-peer marketplace where you can only buy bitcoin. The exchange has been operational since June 2012.
The payment methods accessible to UK users include bank transfers, Payoneer, Transferwise, Worldremit, credit cards, Neteller, Remitly, Sendwave, and debit cards. Other payment methods that Localbitcoins supports are PayPal, OKPay, Revolut, Western Union, Skrill, and WeChat. Moreover, you can use other cryptocurrencies like ether, stellar, and ripple to purchase bitcoin.
Buying and selling bitcoin on Localbitcoins is free. However, traders that create an offer advertisement pay a one percent fee.
Localbitcoins offers other services besides the P2P marketplace. They comprise:
- A forum.
- An affiliate program.
- A rewarding opportunity for security researchers that identify bugs in the exchange.
Pros
- A wide range of payment methods.
- The availability of different offers gives users the ability to choose the best price and the payment methods they prefer.
- Localbitcoins offers escrow to protect both buyers and sellers.
Cons
- Trades could go wrong sometimes, resulting in disputes.
- Privacy concerns over additional KYC requirements for traders who hit bitcoin volumes of over £18,000.
- It could take up to three days for customers to receive a customer support reply.
Any of the above crypto exchanges are suitable for UK users that want to buy bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.
Are you interested in more crypto content? Check out our guide on how to invest in digital assets in the UK.
